Mabel - The Face Of Animal Cruelty

The old dog was abandoned in the Assunpink Wildlife Preserve, in a familiar dumping ground for unwanted animals.

Somehow she ended up trapped in a muddy swamp, with only her head visible. She had struggled for God knows how long. She was exhausted and couldn't fight any more.

Fortunately, someone spotted her brown head sticking out of the mud and called authorities and animal control. She was pulled from her filthy prison, taken to an emergency hospital, stabilized and taken to Popcorn Park Zoo.

Members of the zoo staff were in tears when they saw Mable's injuries and condition. She was emaciated, blind from cataracts, had a nasty urinary tract infection and could barely walk.

They put her up in the "Vinnie Van Gogh" suite - where the badly injured pit bull who was used as a bait dog recovered several years ago.

They fed Mabel, gave her medications for infections and loved her. A few days later she began to walk a little and seemed to be feeling better. She sniffed the cars in the parking lot, looking for the one that belonged to her owner.

"But the person that this elderly dog loved and was so loyal to throughout her life, decided to dump her," according to the post on the zoo's Facebook page. "Yes, Mabel was dumped, in the woods, left to die."

Staff members were furious at the way Mabel was treated.

"We can only hope that karma will one day catch up to the person that abandoned Mabel in this most horrid of ways and that her beautiful face will one day pop up in a memory and maybe, just maybe, this cruel and heartless individual will feel just a shred of guilt.....maybe this person will remember the look on this poor old dog's face as she was abandoned and left to die in the woods, alone," the post states.

But they are honored they had a chance to take care of the grateful dog and thanked all those who sent love, gifts and prayers for Mable.

"In her final days, she rested on warm blankets, she ate good food, she had medications to ease her intense pain, and she had comfort like she probably never experienced in her entire life," the post states. "We can thank all of you for that. If only there were more kind and compassionate people like all of you in this world, there wouldn't be any sad stories, such as Mabel's. But although Mabel's story was sad, we are grateful that it had a peaceful ending. Thank you all for your care and support."

Popcorn Park has a Res-Q-Fund for animals as severely abused or ill as Mabel was. They know there will be more animals to take her place. If you would like to make a donation to fund, please click here :https://www.ahscares.org/shop/item.asp?itemid=28&catid=5 , or you can text ResQ to 501501 to make a donation.

Photo: Courtesy of Associated Humane Societies Popcorn Park.